Singaporeans most 'Wi-Fi obsessed' travellers in Asia: Survey

Singaporeans can't live without Wi-Fi it seems, according to the results of a survey on flight and hotel etiquette habits released by travel site Expedia today (May 3).

The study found that four in five Singaporeans (80 per cent) chose Wi-Fi as a "very important" hotel amenity, crowning Singaporeans as the most Wi-Fi obsessed travellers in Asia, and the third most Wi-Fi obsessed globally behind Brazilians and the Americans.

The survey of more than 18,000 adults around the world also found that Singaporean travellers take an average of 4.6 flights during the past year, ranking as the sixth most frequent fliers in Asia.

While Singaporean travellers take fewer flights as compared to Thai (10.1 average flights per year) and Japanese (9.1 average flights per year) travellers, they tend to take more hotel stays, staying an average of 13.8 nights in hotels over the past year.

The survey also found other defining habits of Singapore travellers, pertaining to their flight and hotel preferences.

When it comes to flight etiquette, 61 per cent of Singaporean find rear-seat kickers the most annoying, the highest in Asia ahead of Australian and South Korean travellers.

As for accommodation, Singaporeans prefer to stay in big chain hotels (49 per cent) followed by boutique hotels (24 per cent) and vacation or hotel rentals (8 per cent). However, this preference is even more pronounced among their counterparts in Japan, where 69 per cent of travellers prefer to stay in hotels.

As for biggest pet peeves during hotel stays, Singaporeans find encountering bed bugs (71 per cent), cigarette smoke or foul smell (56 per cent) and discovering a used condom (46 per cent) the most annoying during their hotel stays.

candicec@sph.com.sg